840 Napoleon Avenue (at Magazine Street)
New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
(504) 895-6130

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Mary Hardy

Statement

"If one believes that the creative process feeds and is fed by the making of a personal mythology, then the invention of one's own myth allows the artist to paint out of the deepest recesses of the self..."

(Carr, O'Keefe, Kahlo: Places of Their Own, Sharyn R. Udall, Yale University Press, 2001)

The content of my work is very much reflected in this statement. I therefore like to refer to my work as "memory-scapes." They contain space, atmosphere, color and marks reflective of how memories seem to emerge from deep within and then rapidly fade. Areas are therefore layered, partially buried and lost while other areas are more distinct and sharp. I use mixed media (painting, drawing, collage, etc...) because it seems to lend itself to the concept of layers or veils of memories.

The images I use may originate from a personal connotation or "mythology" but I like to use them as universal metaphors that can be "read" or interpreted in many ways and in that sense hopefully reveal something to the viewer about their personal "story" as well.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

- "Sacred Signs", George Ohr Museum of Art, Biloxi, Mississippi
- "Icons: an Installation", Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
- William Carey College, Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Selected Group Exhibitions

- "Quill and Kiln" National Juried Competition, George Ohr Museum of Art
- "Cross Currents: A National Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Art", Walter Anderson Museum, Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Private Collections

Deposit Guaranty National Bank
Munro Petroleum
KPMG (formerly Peat Marrick)
Trustmark National Bank
Mississippi Court Reporters

Honors and Awards

2005 - Mississippi Honored Artist, National Museum of Women in the Arts
2003 - Outstanding Faculty Award, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
2001 - Scholar's Grant Award, Mississippi Humanities Council
Gallery Excellence Award, Cottonlandia Museum of Art, Greenwood, Mississippi

Selected Activities and Affiliations

2004-07 - President, Mississippi Art Colony
2002-04 - Board of Directors, Mississippi Art Colony
2002 - Guest lecturer, Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Ocean Springs, Mississippi
1989-present - Drawing and Painting instructor, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Gautier
1980-98 - Art teacher, St. Martin High School, Ocean Springs, MS

Education

Post-graduate and graduate work, University of Tennessee
MA - Art Education - University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama
BS - Art Education, University of South Alabama
AA, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Gautier